Keeping the beat

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Being the sergeant of his patrol, Christopher Berry can’t afford to miss a single day on the job — even when thunder crackles in the dark morning sky, brightened only by flashes of lightning.

"With my luck, the one time I don’t go on post, something might happen," the safety patroller said, "and that would be on my head for the rest of my life."

For a 13-year-old with many years ahead of him, Berry is unwilling to take that chance.

Berry’s commitment to his job was the deciding factor for Roseann D’Armi, his teacher of two years at St. Nicholas of Tolentine, 910 Watkins St., to nominate him for the AAA Outstanding School Safety Patrol Award. The eighth-grader was just one of 16 students from the five-county area to receive the accolade.

"Boys tend to get very silly on the corner [where they patrol]," D’Armi said, shaking her head, "but Chris went every day, rain or shine, dressed to a ‘T.’ He is always the last to go and the first to come."

Three times a day, starting at 7:50 a.m., Berry stands at the corner of 10th and Pierce streets, eyeing the crosswalks carefully, ensuring his peers make it across the street in one piece.

"A lot of cars don’t pay attention to school crossing zones," Berry, of the 1600 block of South Clarion Street, said, recalling one child who never looks both ways. "There’s been multiple times when I’ve had to run out and grab his schoolbag. He’s almost gotten run right over."

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Though Berry’s looks mirror his age, his sincerity is of an old sage. When asked what he is going to do with the $150 U.S. savings bond and plaque that came with the award, he simply said he would "let the money grow in a savings account to gain interest." And, despite his interest in "military tactics and federal law," Berry insists he will attend college first "just in case."

In a class of 35, Berry’s qualities shine at St. Nicholas. Next year, as he enters Neumann-Goretti, 10th and Moore streets, just a block west of his current school, the classes will be larger and the competition more fierce.

"I’ve told my students they will struggle to shine as they enter the world," D’Armi said. "But [Chris] will shine. He is determined to do good things."

Berry’s determination and work ethic stems from his mother Maureen McLaughlin, who he immediately cited as his role model.

"She’s a mom and a dad," he said, smiling.

D’Armi added Berry is particularly respectful of his mother, always calling to check with her when asked to stay after school to tutor his peers and noting he is very appreciative of what she does for him, a quality the teacher has seen diminish in students over the years.

To Berry, the award was another accomplishment in a string of recognitions, including four excellence awards at his graduation and becoming a Mathlete. But the time and effort spent patrolling and tutoring is for the sake of others.

"I just wanted to help," he said.

Minutes later, he is wandering the hallways with a mustard-covered soft pretzel in hand, searching for the last few people he needed to sign his yearbook as he prepares for the next phase of his life.